1 Sep 2009 - by PreSalt.com - Source: Petrobras News
Senator João Pedro (PT-AM) opened this Tuesday’s (09/01) session of Petrobras’ CPI at 2:30 PM. Once again, the theme was the Pernambuco Refinery. Federal Court of Auditors (FCA) Finance and Control auditor, André Delgado de Souza, and the head of the FCA’s construction work department, André Luiz Mendes, were present.
Mendes started with a presentation about the FCA’S work regarding the Pernambuco Refinery. He stated that the first inspection was carried out in 2008, when only the earthwork agreement was in effect. The court singled out alleged irregularities and determined amounts had as high were being paid, something Petrobras looked into immediately. Mendes explained the suit has already been assessed by the court’s technical area and that Petrobras has already submitted its justification, which is still under analysis. “The FCA has not analyzed the merit, in other words, no final decision has handed down. We are still waiting for the speaker, minister Valmir Campelo, to manifest himself,” he said.
About the second audit, performed in 2009, Mendes said the FCA has not analyzed the matter yet. “Thus far, the court’s plenary session hasn’t even made a preliminary manifestation about the matter,” he said. “We are in the preliminary stage,” highlighted Mendes.
Preliminary audits
The second presentation of the afternoon was made by André Delgado de Souza, the Federal Court of Appeal’s Finance and Control auditor. Souza explained the entire Pernambuco Refinery inspection process, which started in 2008, and the alleged irregularities the court found in more detail.
Souza explained that part of the alleged irregularities supposedly involved overpricing and overbilling, and that he requested Petrobras provide documents to explain the project’s costs, higher on account of operating issues. The Company sent more than 60 folders of internal processes containing the requested documentation. Documents that were not handed over contained information about bidding procedures that are still ongoing, such as pricing details. The auditor acknowledged Petrobras has been working to lower a few of the amounts the FCA considered high. Souza mentioned two of these negotiations: the price of the sand drains decreased from R$175 to R$56 per meter, and of the fibro-chemical drains from R$18.40 to R$15 per meter.
CPI speaker, senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR), asked André Mendes if the FCA had considered another solution for the soft soil (soil that is more expansive than the average in the region) that was found other than using fibro-chemical drains. Mendes responded it had not. In Petrobras’ opinion, the fibro-chemical drains are the best solution for the problem in terms of their cost/benefit ratio and, thus, they are being used at the construction site.
According to Mendes, the Refinery agreement analyses are in their preliminary phase, since the FCA is still analyzing their financial information, particularly for the agreement signed in 2009. He also said the court has already accepted many of Petrobras’ arguments, and that he is aware of and is following-up on the progress of the pending negotiations.
When closing the session at 5:25 PM, senator João Pedro confirmed that Pini Serviços de Engenharia’s director for Institutional Relations, Mário Sérgio Pini, and the company’s consultant, Luiz Raymundo Freire de Carvalho, who did not participate in today’s session due to schedule issues, will be invited to make their depositions next Tuesday (09/08).
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